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Quick advice on cooking pre-prepared chicken
Vrtra Theory
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Need some quick advice before I cook dinner in another 5 hours or so.
I am hopeless at cooking chicken -- it's always too dry, or too tough, or tastes like nothing, or all three. Today I thought I'd finally try some of that more expensive, pre-prepared chicken they have at the meat counter -- you know, they've got all this chicken cordon bleu, chicken kiev, chicken with lemon herb, etc. So I picked up some chicken cordon bleu, and the guy at the counter said it's easy -- just cook it at around 350 for 25 minutes or so, check the temp, and you're good.
Being paranoid, I bought one more than I needed to, so I could cook it for lunch and see how it turned out. I put it on a baking sheet, 350 for 25 minutes. It tasted good, but the outside was still starting to toughen and the whole thing was just dryer than it should be.
Is there anyone who knows exactly what I should do to when I cook these things tonight? I've debated wrapping them individually in foil, or maybe covering all of them in one big piece of foil, but then do I need to spray the foil in butter/non-stick? Will the chicken just cook to the foil and tear off all horrible when I unwrap them? etc.
Any clues or advice on cooking this theoretically easy meal would be much appreciated!
I am hopeless at cooking chicken -- it's always too dry, or too tough, or tastes like nothing, or all three. Today I thought I'd finally try some of that more expensive, pre-prepared chicken they have at the meat counter -- you know, they've got all this chicken cordon bleu, chicken kiev, chicken with lemon herb, etc. So I picked up some chicken cordon bleu, and the guy at the counter said it's easy -- just cook it at around 350 for 25 minutes or so, check the temp, and you're good.
Being paranoid, I bought one more than I needed to, so I could cook it for lunch and see how it turned out. I put it on a baking sheet, 350 for 25 minutes. It tasted good, but the outside was still starting to toughen and the whole thing was just dryer than it should be.
Is there anyone who knows exactly what I should do to when I cook these things tonight? I've debated wrapping them individually in foil, or maybe covering all of them in one big piece of foil, but then do I need to spray the foil in butter/non-stick? Will the chicken just cook to the foil and tear off all horrible when I unwrap them? etc.
Any clues or advice on cooking this theoretically easy meal would be much appreciated!
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I'd just grab some chicken breasts, and head over you the marinade/seasoning section of your supermarket and look at the mccormick marinade mixes. Pour it into a bag, toss it all in with your chicken into a roasting pan, and done.
Also if you're putting it on a metal cookie sheet, that might be part of the problem.
Get something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Pyrex-Bakeware-2-Quart-Oval-Roaster/dp/B0008155EW/
or
http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Metallic-26639-Nonstick-Petite/dp/B00134LXB2/
But my advice is just searing them really short in a pan with a lid to get a little golden and then put on the lid and put it on low for like 20 minutes or so. Maybe less. You can also put the pan in the oven if you prefer, might be safer. Maybe add a little water too.
But basically you want to contain the moisture to keep the chicken from drying out and getting rubbery. So you want to heat it in a humid environment or protect it by wrapping it in foil or brining it or any other number of methods that keep the moisture in.
Brining gives you more wiggle room, but you probably cannot do that to something that has already been prepared (cut open and stuffed). If you wanted to do that you should brine before, and then do prep like stuffing after the brine. Also fattier cuts (like the thigh) would give you more wiggle room when cooking.
A sous vide supreme has turned chicken cooking into a breeze for me. I cook mine to 150 and it's pretty damn awesome, finish on a grill or in a pan.
You can't actually seal meat in this way, it's basically old cooking urban legend. Searing is purely for flavor.
Also DJeet has it correct that keeping it at very low heat also works. It's just that that takes way longer. And you need the thermometer. I figured you had neither the time nor the equipment.
wow, turns out you actually lose more moisture from sealing. the more you know! makes sense to seal -er, sear- anyway though, just because it gives you that delicious maillard reaction that makes stuff taste so good.
Non-Stick foil is magical for this kind of thing.
You soak the pot in water for about half an hour, put the chicken into it with whatever spices / flavours your into, put it into a cold oven and then turn it on.
The pot seals in all the steam and flavours while also releasing a bit of the water from the pot itself, and you get super moist delicious chicken out if in with no risk of over cooking.